Balenciaga has ended its eyewear licence contract with Marcolin, choosing Kering Eyewear as its new partner for the production and worldwide distribution of its sunglasses and eyeglasses lines. The first collection produced by Kering Eyewear for Balenciaga will be Spring/Summer 2019, and it will be available at selected retailers from January 2019.

Photo: Kering Eyewear

It is the end of the collaboration between the Parisian label and Marcolin, “whom we take this opportunity to thank for the valuable contribution given to our brand’s development in the last few years,” said Cédric Charbit, CEO of Balenciaga. The licence agreement between Marcolin and Balenciaga was inked in 2012, and was due to last for 5 years.

With this operation, Kering Eyewear brings into its camp the last of the Francois-Henri Pinault-owned labels operating in eyewear which the dedicated business unit, founded in 2014 by the French luxury group, had not yet taken under its wing.

The luxury Parisian label was founded by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1917, and in October 2015 it appointed Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia as its Creative Director. Balenciaga will be the fourth Kering group brand, after Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent, “to top the €1 billion revenue mark,” said François-Henri Pinault last February, at the publication of the luxury group's annual results.